From the Tribune
Longtime political and anti-violence activist Hal Baskin was found dead by his family Friday morning in his Englewood home, according to the Englewood Political Task Force.
Baskin, 66, was pronounced dead at 7:20 a.m. Friday in his Englewood home, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office and Darryl Smith, a member of the task force.
Baskin was a former gang member who became a community organizer and at one point ran for alderman. U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Chicago,...

The odds are strong you can get away with murder in Chicago because barely one homicide in five is ever solved here in the murder capital of the nation (based on the raw numbers). There are many reasons why, with the police code of silence and miserable relations with the black and Latino communities prominent among them.
For the first time in ages, however, there is a glimmer of reform on the horizon–but only a glimmer. Here’s a brief background:
The city of Chicago, personified...

Rahm made his traveling circus of exempt crime fighters hold a press conference to re-assure everyone that they were on top of shit. Waller turned out to be the sacrificial lamb:
“I promise this city that we won’t be defeated,” Chicago Police Chief of Patrol Fred Waller said during a news conference held Sunday afternoon at police headquarters. “We won’t be overrun by that small element that’s committing these reckless acts.”
Waller said much of the violence is being traced back to...

Yesterday Mayor Emanuel and Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan released a draft of a 225 page Consent Decree for the Chicago Police Department. Consent Decrees are certainly nothing new in the country. Cities such as Los Angeles, Washington DC, Detroit, New Orleans, Cleveland and more than 23 others across the country have, or are working under a Federal monitor. They are put in place to facilitate new training and monitoring to reduce police misconduct, potential mistakes, and minimize...

From City Lab
While the university is not actively involved in the development of the OPC, it did help spearhead the bid process that brought it to the South Side and is a major donor. For Malone, the hotel and student housing complex “confirmed suspicions that this wasn’t an altruistic move by the university, but is an attempt to leverage the legacy of the first black president of the United States to continue to beef up the university’s endowment.”
The former president’s rhetoric...

In the course of his presidency Barack Obama either bowed or made partial bowing motions when meeting the Japanese emperor, the king of Saudi Arabia and several other heads of state including China–catching accusations of “treason” and similar compliments from Fox News and other far-right commentators for selling out our nation’s sovereignty with this simple gesture, customary in the lands he visited .
Last week Donald Trump, with no overt physical gestures, virtually...

Ater often-passionate public appeals at the Evanston City Council meeting Monday night, Evanston aldermen voted to move forward with demolition of a historic lakefront mansion by partnering with a local group that has offered to pay for the deconstruction.
Aldermen voted 5-3 to enter into a memorandum of understanding with Evanston Lakehouse Dunes, a group of neighbors that has offered to to pay for the removal of the 91-year old Harley Clarke Mansion and restore the grounds.
Nicole Kustock, spokeswoman...

ook my nose out of the political news to find an interesting clash of principles dividing the film, theater and music worlds. To wit: what is more important, the issue of artistic freedom or socio-political fairness? Does one over-ride the other, or is it situational?
In one of two current cases, the actor Scarlett Johansson decided, under heavy pressure, not to play the role of a transgender man is a forthcoming film called “Rub & Tug,” about a transgender crook who ran...